[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 61 (Thursday, March 28, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21468-21469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06610]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR Part 1910
[Docket No. OSHA-2007-0073]
RIN 1218-AC91
Emergency Response Standard
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), DOL.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); extension of comment
period.
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SUMMARY: OSHA is extending the period for submitting comments by 45
days to allow stakeholders interested in the NPRM on Emergency Response
additional time to review the NPRM and collect information and data
necessary for comment.
DATES: The comment period for the NPRM that was published at 89 FR 7774
on February 5, 2024, is extended. Comments on any aspect of the NPRM
must be submitted by June 21, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Written comments: You may submit comments and attachments,
identified by Docket No. OSHA-2007-0073, electronically at
www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Follow
the online instructions for making electronic submissions. The Federal
e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov is the only way to submit
comments on this NPRM.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency's name and
the docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2007-0073). All
comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in
the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting information they do not want made available to the public or
submitting materials that contain personal information (either about
themselves or others), such as Social Security Numbers and birthdates.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to Docket No. OSHA-2007-0073 at www.regulations.gov. All
comments and submissions are listed in the www.regulations.gov index;
[[Page 21469]]
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download through that website. All comments and
submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for
inspection through the OSHA Docket Office. Documents submitted to the
docket by OSHA or stakeholders are assigned document identification
numbers (Document ID) for easy identification and retrieval. The full
Document ID is the docket number plus a unique four-digit code. OSHA is
identifying supporting information in this NPRM by author name and
publication year, when appropriate. This information can be used to
search for a supporting document in the docket at www.regulations.gov.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-2350 (TTY number: 877-889-
5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of
Communications, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone: (202) 693-1999;
email: [email protected].
General and technical information: Contact Mark Hagemann, Director,
Office of Safety Systems, Directorate of Standards and Guidance,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor; telephone (202) 693-2222; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On February 5, 2024, OSHA issued an NPRM to initiate rulemaking to
update the existing Fire Brigades standard. The proposed rule would
expand the scope of OSHA's standard to include a broad range of hazards
emergency responders encounter during emergency response activities and
would bring the standard in line with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency's (FEMA) National Response Framework. It would also modernize
the standard to align with the current industry consensus standards
issued by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) on the safe
conduct of emergency response activities.
The public comment period for the NPRM was to close on May 6, 2024,
90 days after publication of the NPRM. However, OSHA received requests
from stakeholders to extend the comment period by an additional 30 days
(Document ID 0419); 60 days (see, e.g., Document ID 0426, 0428, 0439,
0440); and 90 days (see, e.g., Document ID 0420, 0434, 0437, 0453).
Stakeholders explained that they need additional time to carefully
review the questions in the NPRM and gather data.
OSHA agrees to an extension of the public comment period and
believes a 45-day extension is sufficient and appropriate in order to
balance the agency's need for stakeholder input with the agency's
desire to proceed with the rulemaking in a timely manner. Therefore,
OSHA is extending the public comment period until June 21, 2024.
Additionally, several commenters submitted requests for a public
hearing on the NPRM (see, e.g., Document ID 0435, 0444, 0456, 0459,
0463). OSHA plans to hold a virtual public hearing after the close of
the comment period to allow stakeholders from all over the country to
participate. OSHA will publish a separate notice at a future date to
announce the details of the public hearing.
Authority and Signature
Douglas L. Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20210, authorized the preparation of this document
pursuant to the following authorities: Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657);
Secretary of Labor's Order 8-2020 (85 FR 58393 (Sept. 18, 2020)); 29
CFR part 1911; and 5 U.S.C. 553.
Signed at Washington, DC.
Douglas L. Parker,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-06610 Filed 3-27-24; 8:45 am]
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